Nice Article From ThinkProgress About The Crackpot Mentality Behind The Oregon Standoff
Nice article from Think Progress about the crackpot militia mentality behind the Oregon standoff
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/04/3735672/inside-the-backwards-ideology-driving-the-right-wing-militiamen-who-captured-a-federal-building/
Synopsis:
What happened: Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of poaching and arson when they poached wildlife on the federal wildlife reserve and then set it on fire to hide the evidence, burning 139 acres of federal land. The convictions carried a minimum sentence of 5 years, but a wingnut district judge (Michael Hogan) gave them a sentence of only a few months. The Federal Government appealed, and the 9th circuit court of appeals overturned the lesser sentence as being illegal, and ordered them to go back to prison.
What the wingnuts are claiming:
Press release from Clive Bundy:
“The United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or authority within the State of Oregon (ie-the standard 'nullification' crap), County of Harney over this type of ranch management. These lands are not under U.S. treaties or commerce, they are not article 4 territories, and Congress does not have unlimited power. These lands have been admitted into statehood and are part of the great State of Oregon and the citizens of Harney County enjoy the fullness of the protections of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution limits United States government.”
And from the usual peanut gallery…
The Tenth Amendment Center — a leading proponent of “nullification,” the unconstitutional idea that states can invalidate federal laws — touts an obscure 2005 law review article arguing that the federal government is obligated to “sell off” most land that is contained within the borders of a state and “distribute the subsequent monies in ways that benefited the public good such as paying off the debt or tax cuts.” (Hence the impetus behind this....sell Federal land to private interests, which gets the secret nod from the plutocrats.) Similarly, the Nevada arm of Americans for Prosperity, one of the flagship groups funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, originally backed Clive Bundy during his 2014 standoff with the federal government, although it eventually scrubbed social media posts supporting the anti-government rancher.
Bundy’s views have also been embraced by one of the most influential stars in the conservative constellation — Fox News. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s show to discuss Clive Bundy’s confrontation with the feds, Fox senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano claimed that “the Constitution simply does not authorize the federal government to own any” of the land it owns within several states including Nevada.
The Legal Reality:
Snip:
As a constitutional matter, this is gobbledygook. The Constitution provides that “Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States.” Moreover, the Supreme Court unanimously held in Kleppe v. New Mexico, that this constitutional provision provides that “the power over the public land thus entrusted to Congress is without limitations.” The federal government may own land, it may enact regulations governing that land, and it may do with its own land as it chooses, regardless of whether that land is within the borders of a state.
= new reply since forum marked as read
And here, it "has this reputation of being progressive" heavy sigh heavy sigh.
My track record for guesses is pretty fucking good, though.
Although not infallible.
Some people even accuse me of being psychic or otherwise using spooky, eldritch, unspeakable means to see that which is unseen.
You should be ashamed of yourself. 